


Give Me Back My Innocence 'Cause I Wish To Dream Again

by PoltergeistPanda



Series: Soriku Week [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Btw i make up tags as I go apparently, Dad!Mickey, Gen, I am so sorry, Kairi seems to have a personality in this, M/M, Neku is socially retarded and shiki his only living translator, RIP, Remember the angst tag?, SoRiku Week 2019, Soriku - Freeform, There is no platonic RikuNami Tag wtf, There is one now i stan them, Updating tags as I go, What is plot but at least its cute, a whole lot of relationship study and pretty words, everyone waxing poetic about how these two nerds look at each other, i am abusing this for experiments, i have no idea what i am doing, mostly Riky being smitten, outside pov, they are so soft, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21725689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoltergeistPanda/pseuds/PoltergeistPanda
Summary: (Soriku Week 2k19)Riku was made for moonlight, she realized, his pale features elegant against the silver of his hair, shorter than the last time she saw him, radiant and bright. His eyes softer than ever as he gazed at Sora, like he could not believe that he was right there. Standing in front of him.(...)Sora was made to run under the sun, he was made for sand whirling around him, waves crashing around his knees, he was made to stand in the first rays of light after a storm, smile golden, happy, carefully crafted from memories of loved ones.Here, the moon dwarfed him into something fragile, he was shorter than Riku, skin darker but still glowing faintly and in the end, this contrast turned them into something broken, ethereal.
Relationships: Ansem the Wise & Riku, Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Lauriam & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Lauriam & Strelitzia (Kingdom Hearts), Mickey Mouse & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Neku & Shiki & Sora, Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Soriku Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045518
Kudos: 46





	1. First Time

**Author's Note:**

> *breathes in*
> 
> I almost missed this and omg I am so late already I swear I will finish this the chapters are so short and I feel terrible for them I am horrible to my boys and I should finish ab 1000000000000 other things but ITS SORIKU WEEK I CANT NOT.
> 
> *breathes out*
> 
> Ok.  
> Title is from the song Illusion and Dream by Poets Of The Fall, who areamazing and always a brilliant inspiration.  
> Also, I am writing this 3/4 blind bc my contact lenses are off so I will have to edit all of this at some point....
> 
> Have fun reading!
> 
> Zinae

_Day 1 First Time/ ~~I'm not dreaming this time, right?~~_

It was the first time she ever saw them show all that they felt for each other, Kairi realizes much later, when her keyblade is raised high to defend, while her heart beats in time with the _weak useless too soon not enough_ pounding in her head.

They stood in the water, barely ankle deep, barefoot but still fully clothed, barely visible in the darn, barely two human shapes against the indigo-midnight shaded sky. 

Framed by stars, framed by worlds, framed by faint, precious light barely reflecting off the metal of their clothes. 

The moon was hidden behind the last remains of the summer storm clouds, the air around them all still smelled fresh, a weight off her skin, unlike the weight falling heavy over her heart.

This was their last day before the true storm, their last evening before the last battle and they had wanted to spend it together, just the three of them. Just like old times.

But as she stared at Sora and Riku, as the clouds passed and the moon finally emerged, she just.

This was their moment, she could not interfere.

Riku was made for moonlight, she realized, his pale features elegant against the silver of his hair, shorter than the last time she saw him, radiant and bright. His eyes softer than ever as he gazed at Sora, like he could not believe that he was right there. Standing in front of him.

He was made for these hidden moments in between, caught between dusk and dawn, a gentle path, a careful guide, a fae waiting for you in a field full of fireflies, reaching out to whisk you into the beyond.

Really, she could only call him beautiful in that moment.

And so terribly, wholeheartedly, painfully in love.

Adoration followed the line of his jaw, softening it into something less dangerous, devotion to the boy before him in every breath, every movement, how he reached for him, how he grasped Soras hands, horrible understanding in his eyes. 

He looked at Sora like he was his world, his light, hjs very existence and Sora looked back like he was looking at all that mattered. 

Kairi burned her jealousy down with her own determination, ignored that quiet _Why does no one look at me like that_ and dared to step back, if only to leave then just a little bit more time.

Her smile sat wrong on her face, something tinged with sorrow and sadness, because…

Sora was made to run under the sun, he was made for sand whirling around him, waves crashing around his knees, he was made to stand in the first rays of light after a storm, smile golden, happy, carefully crafted from memories of loved ones. 

Here, the moon dwarfed him into something fragile, he was shorter than Riku, skin darker but still glowing faintly and in the end, this contrast turned them into something broken, ethereal. 

A sharp glass painting, not yet ready, not yet complete, dangerous but already so very wonderful and brilliant.

Something shattered more and more inside her the longer she watched the scene, her two best friends talking, holding hands, Soras eyes flashing such a startling, vibrant blue, she almost believed they were glowing, but he was crying and Riku looked so lost. 

So very, truly lost.

And still, she could not move anymore. Bones frozen, skin tangled, breath caught.

She could only watch as Riku lifted a tanned hand to his lips, pressing a helpless kiss against Soras knuckles, eyes closed in defeat, just as Sora pressed his forehead against the back of Rikus other hand, face a grimace of everything he was never meant to be.

Waves crashed against their legs again and the moment of silence broke and Kairi almost jumped as she realized that she could move, breathe, run and she did.

_She ran._

She was never meant to witness this, really, she understood and as her hair whipped around her face, as she crashed against her boat and broke down sobbing, as she mourned a love that was never meant to be, she decided that she would protect, defend, support her boys. 

No matter the cost.

And as she stands now, between Sora and everything else, her back burning with a long healed wound and his heart fading in her hands, she swallows down her darkness and illuminates her heart with that one moment she had witnessed.

Because the next time these two retarded idiots see each other? They will have a far happier reunion. 

She will make sure of it.


	2. Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost caught up, third day might be done tonight... Or sometime later xD
> 
> I love Dad!Mickey giving advice or being there for Riku, it's not happening often enough in fanfiction tbh. 
> 
> :D 
> 
> There is no real timeline in this fic, everything is loosely connected though, maybe even to a certain point to Footprints.  
> (Actual first chapter is on its way.... Someday.)
> 
> Have fun!   
> Zinae

_ Day 2 Distance/ _ ~~_ I can’t chew him out like he deserves… If I’ve been asleep. _ ~~

Mickey finds him in the gardens of Twilight Town Manor, a dark, looming presence of a boy holding a cheerful, yellow potted plant and staring at it as if he is not quite sure why he has it. Or what it’s doing in his hands.

MIckey almost laughs at Rikus expression, how he carefully masks his obvious distress, the helpless twitch of his brow as he stares and stares and stares at the tiny sapling and really, sometimes Mickey realizes just how much like a son he’s become to him.

“Is Namine still trying to distract you from Sora?”

It should not be as hilarious watching a startled, grown Keyblade Master jump, whirl around and look so very caught, but it is and Mickey grins up at his friend, touches his leg.

“No, I saw this one at the Market and… Yeah. Kinda thought of Sora and… It’s a sunflower. I bought a sunflower.”, Mickey is pretty sure that he is the only one who ever saw Riku this flustert, aside from the boys childhood friends that is and even there, he is never quite sure. 

The child had always been too good at hiding his true thoughts and he is lucky to be one of the few to see the raw, caring, wonderful young man hidden underneath aloof cool and responsibilities. 

Sometimes he wishes that these kids had more time to be just that. Kids.

“I gifted Minnie wildflowers once. She had wanted roses, but they never truly fit her, she is too… How do I explain this…”, Mickey snapped his fingers and pulled Riku down, so they could sit, “Right, she is too special to me, to give her normal flowers. I am still looking for the perfect ones. So… I am glad that you have found one that fits Sora.”

“Did you know that sunflowers always face the sun?”, Riku  _ brightens _ at that, a radiant, happy boy who loves to talk about his best friend, who loves Sora almost to the point of obsession, and yet, and yet, and yet, “And when there is no sun out, they face  _ each other _ . If that is not a Sora thing, then I don’t know what is.”

He laughs, a soft snort first, erupting into something lovestruck and gentle, something Mickey wants to cradle in his hands and protect forever.

He loves Riku like a son and he loves Sora for making Riku smile like this, even after everything that’s happened.

These children have grown into such fine young adults, he is so very proud of them and how their journey shaped them for the better.

Still, “Just like Sora, exactly. When there is no light out, he always faces you.”

He smiles. 

Smirks. 

Bursts out laughing as Riku almost drops the plant and turns a vibrant shade of red that disappears as quickly as it appeared, but still.

“Or Kairi, or Donald. Or Goofy, Mickey, stop….”

“You know, he never does. It’s always just you he wants to talk to when he is lost.”

Sometimes these two are so dense, Mickey is this close to being 15 years old and locking them in a closet to figure out their feelings. 

Riku shakes his head, “That’s not what I mean. I know he loves me, Mickey. But I will never be his only one. His friends will always be just as important and I love him for that, how big his heart is, but sometimes I want…. Just for a short while… I want him all to myself. And Now he is out there, rescuing Kairi, while we figure out what we’ve missed, because we are missing something, there is too little we don’t know and he is out there at least…  _ Doing _ something. I Worry. For both of them. So… Yeah. This is Sora the Second now.”

Riku awkwardly lifts the plant and shrugs. 

Mickey sights. Right, teenager, they have no idea how to talk about feelings.

“I made a promise to myself that I will confess when he is back. I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep this promise, but... “

“You love him.”, His glove almost glows in the red rays of the sunset, a stark contrast to the dark cloth of Rikus jacket. The boy is warm, he probably spend hours out here.

“I don’t just love him, Mickey.”, Rikus voice is almost inaudible, he hides his face in the pot, behind his hair, “Sora is everything to me. He is my light in the dark, my sun, my life, my very world. I trust him to come back. I know he will bring Kairi back, I know it, but if he doesn’t come back. If I ever lose him… I don’t know what I will do.”

“You will keep loving him and living your life to the fullest, like he wants you to.”, Mickey whispers, “You will look for him and you will find him and you will bring him back, if you can and if you can’t, you will live. You will still protect the things that matter most to you and in this case, if the worst ever happens…. It will be his memory.”

“Right… Sorry. I just…”, shoulders drawn up, hiding in his jacket, Mickey can’t just not hug him. 

So he does.

Riku stiffens and falls against him, eyes closed, breath hitched and soft and he still smiles, “That idiot needs to hurry and come back so he can meet his other. And so I don’t worry myself into an early grave.”

They both laugh and stay like that for a while, as the sky changes, burns brighter, until it settles down into starlight and moonshine.

Only then do they start moving, standing up, Riku gripping the plant awkwardly with one hand as he helps Mickey up and they smile at the sky.

Until….

“By the way, Mickey?”

“Yes, Riku?”

“How do you care for a sunflower? I killed a kactus once, I’d rather not kill this one.”

Yap, definitely his kid.


	3. Day 3 - ReMix

~~_ If the world is made of light and darkness… We’ll be the darkness _ ~~ _ /ReMix _

It’s almost three in the morning when Neku places a steaming mug in front of Sora and Shiki slumps beside him, throwing a blanket around them both to preserve warmth. Neku himself is wearing fluffy socks that suspiciously look like a mismatched attempt at knitting, one of those joke gifts from Shiki and Eri that he keeps around to mess with them, tiny music notes lining the seams and purple stripes wandering up and down the soles of his feet, biting into the vibrant red of his pants. At least his shirt is white. It looks terrible, he knows that and it annoys his girls so much it’s wonderful.

Sora lifts the mug and gives them a soft smile 

They stay quiet.

Stars are dancing above them.

He wonders if any of them is a world Sora knows.

Maybe the faint blue one is Atlantica and the blinking golden light over there? Olympus.

Maybe…

Blinking, Sora looks away, Shiki grasps his hand and Neku falls against his shoulder, sighs, breathes in… 

Breathes out.

Brown hair rustling as Sora tilts his head to indicate that he is listening.

“Nothing.”, he wants to understand, but people are hard, so very difficult and there are to many words caught in his throat, ready to be barfed out in a way only Shiki seems to be able to translate into something not as insulting, “Just… You are overthinking. Never thought I’d see that.”

Shiki snickers into the blanket and grabs for Neku’s phone, “We’re not Riku or that other friend of yours, what’s her name?”

“Kairi.”

“Yeah, Kairi, but we still want you to be as happy as you usually are. You are always so püositive, it really hard seeing you like this. You look like…”

“You’re giving up.”, Neku picks at the headphones, at Sora’s hair, at the blanket, “And you are the last guy I wanna see giving up. You… you helped us, both you and Riku, you saved us and I… We want to see you reunite because you were so happy. Whenever i mentioned him you would just… light up. And you told me so much about him, it feels like I am his friend already and I want to meet him properly. Shiki did and she likes him, but Shiki likes almost everyone, so…”

“Fuck Joshua.”, Shiki sing songs, but she is smiling like it’s an old joke. And it is. 

He misses him.

“Yeah, that. You… You’re forcing yourself to be happy for us, but i wanna see you smile for real and I… there is this song, it always helps me whenever i am down and…”

“This is the most i have ever heard Neku talk that is not a CAT fanboy rant.”, smirking, Shiki lunges away as Neku grabs Mr. Mew and throws it her way, laughing, Sora catching her arm and pulling her back into the hug, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, “What this antisocial nerd means to say is, you are having boy troubles and we want to cheer you up and someone here is even sacrificing his special edgy playlist and headphones for you. I made the chocolate.”

“Sometimes I wonder why i didn’t kill you back then.”, Neku deadpans.

“You love me.”, a brilliant smile and Neku shrinks back, face ablaze and desperately trying to cover it with his hands, murmuring something along the lines of “Uncool” and “omg, shut up, Shiki.”

Embarrassment is something new and wonderfully warm, but she doesn’t need to know this, that he likes her teasing and this easy camaraderie they forged in a game of life and death.

For a second, Neku wonders if Sora, Riku and Kairi have this very same feeling. If they also tease each other over stupid things or if things are always dire and terrible. He wonders when the last time was that they were all together, laughing and smiling and goofing around.

He wonders if the flash of sorrow is real, whenever Sora looks up at the stars and the moon falls on his face and it seems like something is missing.

Sora touches the headphones, testing its feel and the weight on his ears and gives his friends a thumbs up.

Shiki presses play.

And for a lost, fleeting moment, Neku swears that he sees Riku, just like Sora and Shiki described him, a pale, silver haired boy, a specter, maybe an illusion or maybe just the connection these two have. His hand is on Sora’s head, phasing through the wild mop of hair, his smile a mess of gratitude and longing.

Teal eyes meet his and there is barely time to make out the mouthed “Thank you” until he’s gone.

Shiki nudges his leg and nods.

She saw him too.

They share a glance, a nod, a shrug.

This is fine.

They’ve seen weirder things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like writing other ppl watching pining and suffering and giving comfort.  
> And apparently this actually has something resembling a plot? If you squint.  
> A lot.


	4. Secret

_~~Day 4 - Nah, i guess… I’m just sad.~~ /Secret _

Sometimes he remembers what it was like to love, Ansem muses, as he carefully lowers the blanket around Riku’s shoulders. 

The boy is sleeping over history books and diaries, foreign and familiar, handwriting he may or may not remember. some books seem ancient, barely held together by magic and he really should wake Riku up and save the books, but he has not slept in days and Ansem just…

He still has a beating heart and no one in their right mind would ever take away those precious few hours someone as overworked as the boy so very desperately needs.

Yen Sid has been working all of them to the bone while looking for clues, for Sora, for Kairi, for anything, really, that could help them with this feeling of impending doom. They have all been reading up on anything related to the keyblade and up to this point, their closest clue were some letters that may or may not be from the keyblade war and addressed to someone who may or may not have fought in and survived the keyblade war.

But Riku? He took the cake and ran with it. Long days, longer hours, nights spend staring at the very same pages, reading over the same theories over and over again, sometimes figuring something out, only to be left with even more questions. 

He reminded Ansem so much of his late wife, it hurt. 

He knew the faint handwriting under Rikus cheek almost better than he knew his own, he remembered her almost obsessive quest for knowledge, how she had believed in the power of the heart and the keyblade but so very unwilling to experiment with both. She had been the main opposition to Xehanort's research, citing morals and laws and rules “Never meant to be brokes, this retarded idiot should at least pick up a book and read it, that moron, how could you take that as an apprentice, Ansem?!”, raging in these very halls about imbeciles who have no idea what they are playing with.

He needs her by his side, if only to help this poor boy with his own clouded head and lost soul. She would have known how to console him, not just distract.

They all miss sora dearly, but Riku is frantic in his worry, restless, he paces and works, helps anyone and he smiles like a man who is not sure if he has lost everything dear to him or if there is still hope left. 

He is on edge and careful not to offend anyone but the longer Sora is gone…

“You were just as bad back then,”, Ansem murmurs, “I saw you once, when you were visiting Sora, waiting for him to wake up. You stood there, in front of the pod and it was such a strange sight, your black cloak in the white room. You did not wear your blindfold yet. So I maybe saw something I was never meant to. I watched you cry in that room, I watched you look at Sora like he was… You looked at him like I felt for Opera and I kept watching you mourn time lost, I listened to you making promises. You wanted to take him to all the worlds you visited, you wanted him to see the sunset in Twilight Town, you wanted to fly with him in Neverland, play pirates in Atlantica. You wanted to compete in the Colosseum. You wanted to come back home and tell everyone of your adventures and prove that you were all grown up. 

I remember this like it was yesterday, you were punching the glass, screaming, until Namine found you. she took your hand. You let her.”

Ansem looks away from the sleeping face, “I remember how you mourned their friendship and promised her to be friends for all of you. I remember you promising over and over again that you will always protect sora with everything you have, because that is all you can give. You were such a lost boy, Riku and now you are even worse. I wonder what would happen if everyone just let you go to look for him. You were the one to tell him to go first, but you are also the one suffering the most from his absence. Would this journey destroy or save you, I wonder. I can only wish…”

He quiets. 

Riku is still sleeping.

“I can only wish and believe for Sora to return to us safe and sound, if only for your health and well being. 

I truly want you to tell him to his face that you love him the way you did it in front of his pod. 

You deserve at least this much.”

Careful hands lift books from the floor and stack them on the table, Ansem moves around the chaos, gather up what he can and maybe he spends a minute or five with the mindset of a child, pulling pages and books from under the boy’s face, smiling at the tiny drool drops here and there.

And when he is done and turns around to leave, he hears the quiet “Thank you.” and he keeps walking, because no one needs to see an old man cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two hours late but who's counting XD
> 
> Ansem is a curious character I wanted to explore more, because he saw Riku in one of the worst times of his life and i kinda wanted to explore, if only a little bit, what exactly he might have witnessed. What he learned afterwards.  
> What he might think of Riku now.
> 
> His formal sppech was still difficult to write and i am sure i messed up here and there, but I am barfing this out as i go and maybe i will edit this one day or something.  
> Or i will just ignore this fic's existence forever.  
> Who knows.  
> I don't.


	5. Aftermath

_ Day 4 -  _ ~~_ I LIKE getting dragged into your messes! _ ~~ _ / Aftermath _

In the end, it's Namine who finds him. 

Hands clutched over his chest, clutched over a broken keychain, just one boy mourning the loss of his one and only true love. 

She finds him on the shores of Destiny Island, curled up beneath that strangely shaped tree she was finally able to witness in its full glory just a few days ago…

When their world stopped turning and everything vanished in a wisp of smoke and dust.

There is beauty in tragedy and truth in sorrow but in this one moment she wishes for both lies and ruin, if only to soothe the shattered remains of Riku's heart.

Reaching out to him feels like an intrusion, it feels wrong as she wraps her arms around him and holds him close, his sobs ripping into her heart and tearing her own carefully crafted mask of sad understanding into this ugly grimace of mourning. 

They say crying helps.

They say it washes away the pain and gives one the strength to keep going.

_ They lied. _

It's still painful, it's still not fair, not to any of them, losing Sora.

It's not fair to Riku, who sacrificed everything but gained nothing in the end.

Namine wraps herself around her friend as he breaks and breaks and breaks, she searches for words she could say, anything to ease his burden, but nothing comes to mind. 

They are alone at least.

His fingers let go of the chain and it rings bright as it hits the sand, too loud in her ears, but his fingers clutch onto her, desperate, hopeless, terrified.

“I miss him, Namine.”, how raw his voice sounds, how lost his heart beats, how desperate his body, craving someone not her, “I miss him so much and now he is gone and I…”

_ Never got the chance to tell him. _

_ Liar. _

His cries ring in her ears, as soft as they are, as hidden away in her shoulder as they are and she holds him closer, wraps his arms tighter around him.

“The only thing I ever wanted is to be by his side. I just wanted him to be safe and happy and now…”

_ And now. _

_ And now. _

_ And. _

“And now he went somewhere you can’t follow.”, she whispers as her own heart shatters and she understands. All Riku has ever done is following Sora, keeping him safe, strong, happy. All he ever wanted was for his friend, his best friend, his only thing that matters

_ His Dearly Beloved _

To keep smiling and now…

What are they supposed to do now?

Her hands grasp Riku’s and she pulls him into a position more comfortable, hissing, as pins and needles tear through her legs, but she refrains from cursing and keeps hugging her friend.

It’s the only thing she can do after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not sorry.


	6. Parallels

_ Day 6 -  _ _ ~~Of course I like him! He's my best friend!~~ _ _ / Parallels _

He is standing in  _ All That’s Left _ , a town he once called home, the young keyblade master by his side, oddly quiet considering how he screamed at him just mere hours ago.

“Riku would love this place.”, Sora is the first to break the silence and he looks down at the kid, watches him stare at the ruins of a once radiant town, eyes almost calculating, “It will be a lot of work, but… I want this place to look like you told me, Marluxia.”

_ If only for her. _ , is left unsaid.

“Lauriam.”, he whispers and reaches into his pocket, gets a tie, ties his hair into a high ponytail, “My name is Lauriam.”

The memory feels like Sakura petals in his mouth, Strel’s smile as she rambled about the young wielder she liked so much, her moves all over the roofs and him catching her whenever she threatened to fall.

He misses her dearly. 

_ Just a little bit longer. Just one more time. _

Sora is just as animated, but his words, his way of waxing poetic about Riku, without even noticing, is different.

Strelitzia had been filled with wonder and respect, she wanted to be friends. 

Sora? He is friends with Riku, no questions asked, no judgement, and yet adoration fills his voice, makes him sound so very pure and whole, not like the broken shell barely held together by memories and sheer determination that he is.

Whenever Sora talks about his best friend, he sounds alive.

Lauriam almost wishes that he had been there sooner, gotten the kid out sooner. He almost regrets.

Because this Sora will need all the light he can get and there is one, maybe two, maybe a handful people left who can help with that.

And only one will do so without any second thought.

He remembers Riku as Marluxia, a stoic boy opposing him, blade in hand, eyes focused on him as his opponent. A lost boy in a lost world, an obsidian fragment of darkness in stark white halls.

Later, seeing him all grown up on the Keyblade Graveyard, he might have felt something resembling awe. For a second, for just a second, he might have seen Skuld.

Not that he’d realized who she was back then.

He carried himself wenn with the burden of responsibility, his keyblade no longer a tacky show of strength but more fitting, sleek, elegant. Until he looked at Sora and everyone and their mother realized that behind all the cool exterior was just a boy desperately smitten with his best friend, who was caught up in an adventure none of them had chosen.

Sora was so much more powerful next to him. 

Skuld and Ephemera.

Him and Strelitzia.

Riku and Sora.

Lauriam smiles to himself, “Can’t wait to start on this mess, so you can show your boyfriend my hometown.”

Not even his sister blushed like that, he missed out on so much teasing.

Really, what is it with this kid and making everyone adopt him the second they see him smile?

Sora shrieks and hides his face in his hands, “He is not my boyfriend!”

The softer, almost inaudible, “I only want him to be my boyfriend…” is left unmentioned.

They have work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was harder than expected... because I didn't know from who's point of view to write, but it was either Strelitzia bc she fun and cute or Lauriam, bc there is never enough of him.
> 
> You saw what it is.  
> Headcanon of Lau teasing Sora for blushies sake is accepted, adopted and now shared.
> 
> on another note: I AM CAUGHT UP HA!!


	7. Curse

_ Day 7 -  _ ~~_ He’s the best teacher I could ever have. _ ~~ _ / Curse _

Their reunion feels a little bit like a curse, Donald muses as he watches Sora leap into Riku’s arms, crashing into him, both of them falling into the ground as Riku’s legs give up.

Something raw lines his eyes, his chin, jaw locked into something desperate, as if he can’t believe that Sora is right here, in his arms.

Right here in front of him.

And of course every single one of them wants to hug Sora. of course each and every one of his friends wants to hold him close and never let go, but…

Sora’s face, when his eyes found Riku, how he lit up and burned, how he gasped Riku’s name and just… 

It looked a lot like a leap of faith. Like making sure that his dearest friend was not a specter.

They turn away, leaving them in their moment, shielding those boys from prying eyes.

Marluxia is grinning to himself and murmuring something under his breath, but his gaze is fond, amused, gentle, something close to how Donald knows he looks at his nephews.

Whoever he sees in Sora, he must have dearly loved them. Sobs behind him.

Donald dares a look back and smiles. The kid is a mess, all snot and tears, pale hands holding his face, Riku pressing their foreheads together, smiling.

Really, truly smiling, silver hair shining, eyes glowing, teeth white, lips wide. 

Beautiful, that boy, Sora chose well.

It hurts, knowing, that whenever these two get a moment together, they will again be separated in a short while.

Just this once, Donald prays for a few days reprieve.

Just this once.

They all deserve it, but these two, they actually need it.


	8. Danger

_ Day 8 -  _ ~~_ But be safe. No reckless stunts. _ ~~ _ / Danger _

They barely register Chirithy in the room, it muses, as Riku gently grasps Soras arms and keeps them there, as if he’s trying to ground the both of them.

Voices quiet, it can barely hear what they are talking about, but it seems to be about sora being restless once again, about wanting to see if all his friends are alright and Riku just wanting him to rest a little bit longer, this is da´ngerous, please, I can’t just stay back and watch you go and disappear again.

“Then come with me! I want you to meet everyone and I want to see you dressed as a pirate and what kind of monster you are and maybe we can meet Elsa or Stitch! Please? The beast wanted to talk to you anyway and I just want to make sure that everyone is safe and okay. I…”, Sora fumbles with his hands, his words, “I want us to travel together. You, Kairi and me. That’s what we wanted to do in the first place. And Kai still has so much to learn about herself. I want to help her and i want to spend time with you! Without all these responsibilities, without fighting. Just us.”

It’s less of an argument than Chirithy feared. Things have been tense since Sora came back, the quiet before the storm obvious. Everyone is on edge, running in circles, trying to prepare for some unknown variable.

So sora wanting to travel now?

“That is a given, you are not going anywhere without me. i just… We still need to prepare everything. Yen sid needs to give us his permission…”

“He won’t. I asked.”

“I’ll ask Aqua.”, Riku deadpanned, “She will say yes. But we are not setting sail with a coconut, a bottle of water and a few mushrooms again.”

Sora laughs and heavens, Chirithy can feel the warmth of his smile from here.

It’s chest tightens in memory of warm eyes and a smile just like this, a boy hugging his cat and reaching out to them.

Chirithy grasps it’s bag tighter, Lux clattering within.

They have gathered so much.

Riku presses his lips against Soras temple, smiling himself, “Because, as sweet as you are, I’d rather not use you as my dinner.”

“Who says that it won’t be you on the dinner table?”

“I have more muscle, that’s not as tasty, but you are still chubby and soft, soooo…”

“Riiikuuuuuuuu.”, the smaller boy whines and Riku grins like a madman, pulling Sora fully against him and covering his face in small pecks and gently combing through his hair until Sora pretty much dissolves into giggles and hiccups.

They smile.

they kiss.

Chirithy turns away and decides on asking later, if it may tag along.

This promises to be an entertaining journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more Chap :D   
> i am actually finishing this, wow. this feels kinda amazing...
> 
> Funny how they go the "Dad said no, ask mom." way XD

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Broken, But Not Unwhole](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21756637) by [nightlife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightlife/pseuds/nightlife)




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